Presbyterian Mission Agency

A letter from Annette George in the U.S. from Thailand

April 2013

Dear Friends and Supporters around the world,

This will be my last newsletter to you as my time of employment with PC(USA) missions is coming to an end. I will be in the U.S.A. briefly (details below) before returning to ChiangMai, Thailand, to continue working there as an employee of Payap University College of Music. First I will catch you up on the events of my school and community work from the past school year:

Two generations of flute students.

School Daze
I was happy to have three excellent freshmen majoring in woodwinds (flute, oboe and saxophone this time) to teach in addition to the upperclassmen minoring in flute and clarinet. The flutist, in particular, is advanced in skills and very ambitious in his practice habits, so I felt energized in my effort to keep him challenged. The oboist replaced a graduating student as a valuable member of our orchestras, so when he had to miss a concert, I had to brush up on my oboe performing skills quickly to cover his part in a concert with visiting soloists from the U.S.A. I had to scramble to find reeds that were decent and in tune and wished that I had kept up my lip muscles for extended oboe playing (yes, the muscles used for oboe blowing are different than those needed for good flute tone).

A letter from Dennis Smith in Argentina

April 4, 2013

Dear friends:

Before we begin, a prayer request:  After heavy rains, more than 50 people have died in flooding in and around Buenos Aires in recent days.  Buenos Aires is a low-lying river town and heavy rains often cause flooding.  But in this case many have lost their lives and many more have lost their homes and livelihood.  Pray for those who are grieving, and for those who are accompanying them in their grief.  

The big news from Latin America these days is the election of the first-ever Argentine Pope! 

More about that in a minute, but first a few comments on the relationship between church and state in Argentina and how it impacts the ministry of PC(USA) partner denominations.  A couple of months ago I made my annual pilgrimage to the office of the Secretariat for Worship, a branch of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Each year Rev. Gerardo Oberman, a good friend and president of the Reformed Churches of Argentina, signs a letter sponsoring our religious visa application.  The Secretariat of Worship has to certify Gerardo’s signature before we can present it to the immigration authorities.

A letter from Bob Butterfield in Portugal

May 2013

Dear Friends in Mission,

Let me begin by thanking you all for your support.  Keiko and I could not work in Portugal without the strong spiritual and material support we get from you as individuals, churches, presbyteries, synods, and World Mission offices of the PC(USA).

We are now back in the U.S.A. and have already begun to visit congregations and presbyteries.  Even now it’s clear that so many Presbyterians want us to share our story with them that we’re going to have to extend our stay from three to six months to accommodate the demand.  In any case, there are a few additional things I want you to know about the church body we work with, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Portugal (IEPP).

In previous letters I’ve been pleased to report on the considerable improvements that have been made in and by the IEPP since the election in July 2012 of a reform slate of candidates for the Executive Commission (EC), which is the five-member board that carries out the decisions of the General Assembly and manages the IEPP’s business month to month.  The male-dominated management team that had run the EC for many years was swept out of office and replaced by a reform slate of candidates composed of four women, plus me in a rather minor, advisory role.  Besides having to straighten out the IEPP’s thoroughly confused finances, the newly elected EC has really had to fight to persevere in its reform platform.  In this struggle the negotiating moxie, business acumen, and pastoral skill demonstrated especially by newly elected President Silvina Queiroz and newly elected Secretary-General Dulce Cabete have thus far been very impressive. 

A letter from Elisabeth Cook in Costa Rica

May 2013

Dear Friends:

I have thought a lot about what home means during the past few months. Having grown up in many different countries, I have become used to being a “foreigner” almost everywhere I go. But the months I recently spent on Interpretation Assignment in the U.S. made me realize that belonging and home have to do with people, relationships, and the sharing of hearts and spirits. To travel to such very different congregations and share with people from many different walks of life, some very interested in the mission of our church and some barely aware of it, I have felt welcome, challenged and, above all, part of a family.

As a “missionary kid” I have no home in the U.S., but the place I am starting to call home, the Bay Area of California, came to be so thanks to PC(USA) mission. For several years groups came to the Latin American Biblical University (Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana, UBL) from First Presbyterian Church of Oakland and Montclair Presbyterian Church. As I shared with them in Costa Rica, they opened their hearts and homes to me in the U.S.  Little by little, I have carved out a place, not a geographical place, but a people place!

A letter from Amy Davisson Galetzka in Thailand

January-March 2013

A TIME TO REFLECT:

Feeding IDP children

New Year celebrations, Lent, and Easter have passed. Although the time has filled up—taking care of Nadia, with family, friends and work—there has still been time to reflect on the past and make plans for the future. This time has allowed me to reevaluate and reflect, to start fresh, and also to say thank you.

We left Oregon, and the wonderful time staying with my family, in early February. It was a tremendous blessing to live with my parents and have Nadia get to know them during her first four months of life. We try to continue "seeing" them daily, thanks to technology that makes that so easy (and free!).

After visiting friends and family in California, the three of us travelled back to Thailand. Nadia was an amazing traveler and we all enjoyed the trip. "Baby jet lag" is no fun, but after a couple of weeks we all adjusted to the time change and the hot surroundings. Johnny goes on his work trips to Nepal and Taiwan and returns to stay at home with us in between trips.